Fleas are blood sucking pests that can make life hell for your dog or cat. When a flea bites into your dog or cat's skin it can cause severe itching and allergies making your pet scratch excessively. Continued flea bites can also make your pet anemic, making it more vulnerable to severe health problems. Dogs can also become infected with tapeworms if they ingest an infected flea. Another reason why fleas need to be controlled quickly is their ability to multiply at a very fast pace. Since these fleas can be found anywhere in your home, you need to not only control fleas on your pets but also clean up the whole house. Advantage Flea Control is once a month topical flea treatment for cats and dogs.

What is Advantage Flea Control?

Advantage Flea Control is a topical treatment for dogs and puppies that are seven weeks or older and cats and kittens that are eight weeks or older. The treatment stops fleas from biting a dog or a cat in three to five minutes and kills nearly all the fleas within 12 hours of its application. The treatment is also effective in killing re-infesting fleas within 2 hours and its impact lasts for up to one month. Much better than the traditional treatments like shampoos and powders, Advantage flea control kills fleas even before they lay eggs. This prevents their infestation for about a month. Manufactured by Bayer AG, Advantage Flea Control contains Imidacloprid, a chemical for fighting fleas. This chemical destroys a flea's nervous system by blocking its nerve receptors.

Application and Side Effects of Advantage Flea Control

This over the counter medication needs to be applied on your dog or cat's skin carefully. In case of cats, the treatment should be applied to the skin on the neck at the base of the skull. And in the case of dogs up to 20lbs, Advantage flea control should be applied to the skin on the back between the shoulder blades. However, in case of dogs whose weight is more than 20 lbs, the treatment should be applied on three to four spots along the skin on the back of the shoulder to the tail. Adequate precautions should be taken to ensure that the product does not touch the pet's eye or mouth. Keeping in mind the toxic nature of this product, one should wear rubber gloves while applying it.

The treatment should, however, be applied on your pet only after ensuring that it is clean. Advantage flea control treatment yields best results when the pet and its hair are completely dry. So one should not use this treatment after bathing your dog or when it is still wet. Advantage flea control should also not be used on hypersensitive dogs, or dogs that are allergic to imidacloprid or puppies under seven weeks of age. The product is also not recommended for use in pregnant or lactating animals.

Although the treatment has little side effects, animals with sensitive skins may experience some itchiness or redness. In some rare cases, hair loss may also occur. One should immediately contact a vet if the treated animal appears to be lethargic, shaky or generally unwell.